Disney creepy email

[Richard M Nixon]

Times like this I like to remind everyone of Target sending advertisements to a teen girl suggesting that her purchasing habits indicated she may be pregnant. She (and her parents) didn't know she was.

Data mining is a cool, cool technology. Also, it freaks people out. Love that, too.

 

[Aaeolien]

I wouldn't call it creepy. Simple database comparison (they have addresses if you have travelled there obviously., and for sure they have created school calander databases). Simple marketing for sure. But they will get some bookings out of it from folks who haven't thought about vacation dates for next years school year. Email arrives with dates of winter break or spring break, DW and DH say hey we haven't planned anything. Hey look this is the dates. Let's look at this and plan a disney trip. Simple but will be somewhat effective.

 

[DaughteroftheKing]

just don't ever google "universal studios" 'cause...they'll know...

 

[*pixie*dust*]

I got one of these e-mails too.

 

[ImDMous]

I don't see how this is bad. Why would you want great rates for a time you couldn't go?

 

[Peaseblossom]

Yep, those RFID chips can tell them exactly where you are and have been on the grounds. They can use them to see where the most traffic is during the day and to control crowns. That little magic band is surely magic!

Sorry to hijack, but I've gotta know - the photos weren't on FP+ rides, they were actually during EMH. Do they have readers all over the place randomly tracking you? Or at the camera locations, maybe?

 

[MillauFr]

Sorry to hijack, but I've gotta know - the photos weren't on FP+ rides, they were actually during EMH. Do they have readers all over the place randomly tracking you? Or at the camera locations, maybe?

I would be completely shocked if Disney World didn't have cameras all over the place with fancy software that lets them know who is entering the parks. I also wouldn't be surprised if they or the NSA is running all of those pictures through a database of undesirables to see if they get a match. I have to believe that since Disney is one of the top ten high value targets in the United States that they are watching it like a hawk.

 

[MillauFr]

It's lazy, bad marketing and yes, people should push back against it.

What ever they are doing it is working. They charge a kings ransom and still are completely overwhelmed by crowds.

 

[dawnhaze]

I got one of these too but I don't actually have any kids. I have no idea if the break dates were accurate for my area. NYC does a somewhat unusual schedule of school breaks, or so I'm told.

 

[kymom99]

I used to get pin codes all the time for the fall when I couldn't go. It would be a bit irritating. Then finally I got one for summer! I'm guessing they have found a way, as said before, to match where you live with possible travel times to make the offers more personal. Mine now seem to have prices specific to our family, based on the age of my son. I'm sure they keep all that info and use it to generate mailings. I still get the info about freed dining in the fall, etc. but it seems to be helpful that they can personalize their offers to meet our needs.

My brother went to WDW exactly one time, 14 years ago and we still get mail for him. (He lived with my parents when the trip was booked and I have since bought my parents' house.)

 

[ellochka]

It's lazy, bad marketing and yes, people should push back against it.

If they have done the research to get area's school breaks, they also probably have done the research to show that people both hate creepy privacy-intruding emails and love discounts. So, rather that send these targeted emails telling you to enjoy breaks with them, they should have sent a more generic "Is life getting too busy? Then take a break this fall or spring with Disney" and had a personal coupon code for the person that gave some small discount on tickets or hotel which included the breaktime with a few days on either end (so a 2 week code), so it wasn't so clear they had data mined.

Disney marketing, you can hire me anytime you like, but you probably can't afford me...

To determine what works better they conduct A/B tests where results (bookings) from different types of coupons are compared, and customers are assigned into groups randomly. I know for sure because it is my work area, and I have seen their open job descriptions.

 

[leebee]

Sorry to hijack, but I've gotta know - the photos weren't on FP+ rides, they were actually during EMH. Do they have readers all over the place randomly tracking you? Or at the camera locations, maybe?

The photos don't have to be on FP+ rides. The Magic Band tracks you all the time while you are at Disney, if you are in range of a reader. Obviously the readers exist on these rides, so Disney knows where you are, when you are there, etc. My guess is that some folks think it's a big sprinkling of Pixie Dust, to be able to get photos taken during EMH. So YES, they DO have readers all over the place, randomly tracking you. That Magic Band is way more than a fun device to save you from the confusion, labor, and stress of removing a park pass or credit card from your wallet; it's Disney's "Key To YOUR World!"

 

[TwoMisfits]

To determine what works better they conduct A/B tests where results (bookings) from different types of coupons are compared, and customers are assigned into groups randomly. I know for sure because it is my work area, and I have seen their open job descriptions.

Yes, but what they are likely missing (in their drive for the short term dollar) is comparing how many people they turned off from the company through the ad. That's harder to judge "statistically", but it is the 1st rule of marketing - don't put out an ad that drives people away or gives people a negative view of your company! And, understand it wouldn't be just one ad that would have that effect (normally) but a strategy that gets employed that over time pushes and pushes and pushes their normal consumer away...

If, for example, I got the above email and then over the next 6-12 months got similar emails that made it seem Disney was prying more and more into my life, I'd probably move further and further towards telling Disney to take a hike. It wouldn't be the one email that was the instant backlash, but the whole marketing campaign of badness (which, yes, may get 1 extra person to book now, but lose 2 who would book later)...

 

[ellochka]

Yes, but what they are likely missing (in their drive for the short term dollar) is comparing how many people they turned off from the company through the ad. That's harder to judge "statistically", but it is the 1st rule of marketing - don't put out an ad that drives people away or gives people a negative view of your company! And, understand it wouldn't be just one ad that would have that effect (normally) but a strategy that gets employed that over time pushes and pushes and pushes their normal consumer away...

If, for example, I got the above email and then over the next 6-12 months got similar emails that made it seem Disney was prying more and more into my life, I'd probably move further and further towards telling Disney to take a hike. It wouldn't be the one email that was the instant backlash, but the whole marketing campaign of badness (which, yes, may get 1 extra person to book now, but lose 2 who would book later)...

This is why they run tests with control groups. Well, they would do it if they are smart. If they are not (like we are ) they would just go those "best practices" that are pure BS that Marketing VPs use to justify their inflated salaries (they are wrong 90% of the time)...

 

[mum of two pirates]

They have picture frames that have 30 second advertisements in them and they have the technology of facial recognition built in so they can tell who you are and never show you the same clip twice to you the whole time your on the ship. There technology is pretty high. I read somewhere once that they scan everyone who comes into the park also. I heard the chip was going to be scanned when the camera takes the picture and would put it on your M.M. in the future, so maybe that is in affect already.

 

[emma'smom]

So it's interesting, we live in rural area we have this odd break that nobody else has--- and it was listed as one of our vacations. For those of you creeped out and stating that this would turn people off, I can see you point.

However, I operate under the assumption that Disney likely has all kinds of data about my family already (DVC, AP holder, DCL Castaway, etc) and I have nothing to hide (not that others do, but that's not where I place my angst)---so the email didn't creep me out, but I did appreciate those dates loaded into my iphone. I just hit the link, it inserted them into my calendar and now I have potential Disney dates right in there. My friend who was sitting next to me (who travels to Disney/DCL a lot too) thought it was cool too.

So...it works for some of us!